RD17

The UC Davis kicker that beat out Hellevang had similar stats (12-15 on FGs, 4-5 beyond 40 yards, perfect on PATs) so although Hellevang had a great year, the two players were pretty close statistically. I agree about Bamba, especially when you throw in his productivity on kick returns. One of the UCD receivers that made first team had just 584 receiving yards. He must have been a heck of a decoy. Total all-conference players by team (including honorable mention): UCD: 16 (8 seniors) Poly: 14 (4 seniors) USD: 12 (7 seniors) SUU: 12 (7 seniors) UND: 9 (2 seniors) I was really suprised at how young Cal Poly is. They only have 11 seniors on the roster and will have 9 offensive and 8 defensive starters returning. They return their entire OL along with five defensive players that were named all-conference this year. They could easily go from worst to first next year. USD graduates 5 of its front 7 (three all-conference) on defense, including the entire line. In addition to Shepard, on offense USD loses three OL (two all-conference) and an all-conference receiver. This looks like it should have been USD's big year and they didn't get it done. UCD loses five all-conference defensive players, including the league player of the year. Offense is in better shape with the return of second team all-conference QB Denham, but they must replace two all-conference receivers, including league offensive MVP. SUU will return two top receivers, but must replace three all-conference players on the OL, a second team all-conference QB, and possibly the nation's top FCS punter. Generally speaking though, SUU is still young with just 12 seniors on the team this year. In addition to Sutton and Bamba on offense, UND will return five defensive players that were named all-conference. With the possibility of starting seven seniors on that side of the ball, UND just may have the best defense in the league next year.

Good to hear that a couple of those freshmen receivers may be able to contribute early. Townsend could turn out to be quite a recruiting steal, IMO. I believe he attended camps at UND and the Coon Rapids connection had to have helped in recruiting him. I have heard the same thing in regards to the 2009 recruiting class, just not a lot of specifics on individual players. If this class is comparable to (or better than) the 2008 class, the foundation should be laid nicely to come out of the transition with a team capable of playing at a high level.

Agreed... especially if Binns is as advertised and/or Murray becomes eligible again. Davis would be buried on the depth chart at RB under those circumstances.

WR is a funny position in the sense that sometimes a guy like Bamba comes along and can play at a high level right out of the gate while other recruits that appear to be busts early on just take more time to develop and they become impact players later in their careers. Often times its the bigger receivers like Daggett and Heimler that fall into this category. Hopefully they both can still develop into productive players. I do really wonder what the deal is with Chris Anderson. He has been talked up going way back to his redshirt season under Lennon and yet he has had virtually no impact. Seems strange that the coaches would talk so highly of a player that never seems to be part of the game plan. Although WR is definitely a concern right now, I'm fairly confident that the coaching staff will be able to find some guys that can play as the recruiting base expands. There are many WR type athletes in CA and TX and all it takes is two or three goods ones to be pretty formidable. I'm much more concerned about the future LB and OL from a talent standpoint because it takes more volume at those positions and more time to build depth.

Yes, I noticed that about Roach as well... the roster says he is from Washington D.C. Does anyone know who is he and how he ended up at UND? One of the biggest keys to coming out of the transition with a playoff ready team will be the development of the linebackers that are currently redshirting. With only three linebackers total between the sophomore and redshirt freshman classes, the guys redshirting now almost have to be impact players by 2011 for the defense to be effective. That's asking a lot. UND should be fine next year as the four junior linebackers on the team (Kasowski, Dublanko, German, Cochran) are each among the top nine tacklers this season. In fact, with the development of Dublanko and Kasowski over the last few games, I'm optimistic that UND could have its best defense overall since the 2006 season next year. There are likely to be seven senior starters (the four linebackers, a great NT in Boyle, and Schwenzfeier/Ankenbauer at safety) plus four experienced CB's and at least three underclassmen that have seen significant time on the defensive line. If any of the linebackers and defensive linemen that are currently redshirting are able to add talent and depth, the 2010 UND defense should be much improved over this year.

I have not heard much on the recruiting front other than the couple of commits that have been noted so far. I also have not heard anything on Murray's status... it would be great to combine him and Sutton in the backfield next year if Murray can get eligible. I'm guessing the Wildcat went away when Goska became more involved. If you have a great running QB you can put in the game, might as well utilize his abilities and also present a passing threat to the defense. I took a quick look at the roster... there are 17 players from last year's recruiting class (15 Rfr. and 2 true sophomores). Seven of them are on the 2-deep offensively (four have started), three more (Benjamin, Brenneman, Watkins) are significant contributors on defense, Mersereau (fastest player on the team) is now the main punt returner, Cameron the part-time punter, and linebacker Jay Nelson is on the travel roster. Of the four that haven't played much, two of them are the third and fourth string quarterbacks (Nichols and Hendrickson). Although it has been a down year, to me the fact that so many young guys are good enough to see significant playing time this year is a very good sign. Imagine this class as seniors the first year UND is playoff eligible!

I believe Gillson saw his first extensive playing time of the year in the UC-Davis game and I have heard that he has really come on since the start of the season. It will be interesting to see if he gets more PT this week. Another young player worth mentioning is RFr. punter Brett Cameron. He has punted 10 times this year and has a 44.9 average per punt.

I'm dumbfounded as to what the leadership at LMU could possibly be thinking. LMU has less than 1500 undergraduates, is in a town of 5,000 people, has an athletic budget of $2 million and an endowment of less than $50 million. And this is a D-I school? Wow. Haven't they been paying attention to what has happened at Centenary or Birmingham Southern? Birmingham Southern has twice the endowment of Lincoln Memorial and the reason they moved down to D-III was because D-I was putting too much of a strain on the overall financial stability of the school. I do believe, however, that NKU will eventually move to D-I. NKU's conference (GLVC) is increasingly becoming a league dominated by smaller private schools and the GLVC footprint continues to shift further west as it adds new members (William Jewell from the Kansas City area was just admitted this year). With its new arena and the Cincinnati market, NKU would likely be a pretty attractive candidate to several different D-I conferences.

Too bad Cal Poly didn't beat Davis last week. We would have had a 5-way tie for the league title.

It's funny you mention that. I was thinking the same thing while watching LeFevour destroy the Toledo defense last night.

Congrats to the coaching staff on what looks like a couple of great commitments so far. From seeing the video and some pictures, Anya-Gafu passes the eye test, and UND doesn't currently have enough of those types of athletes in the program at this point in the transtion. If I had to guess, he will be a strong side OLB or possibly a DE in UND's system if he gains another 25-30 pounds. From the sounds of it, Demler was high on Wisconsin's list until their top choice committed:

Many good points brought up in this thread... I knew this schedule was setting up to be a disaster from an attendance standpoint as soon as I saw it. No September games, two unattractive opponents on hockey weekends, the most attractive regional opponent (USD) for homecoming, Cal Poly on Halloween, an NAIA team on the hunting opener, etc. Combine those factors with the USF loss and the team not having a great year and lower attendance was predictable. The good news is this home schedule is behind us and future schedules will certainly get better. As many others have stated, the biggest issue right now is marketing. UND needs more fans buying into the football and basketball programs for the D-I move to succeed and right now, I don't see enough being done on that front. While having a premier hockey program is great, the implication at UND has long been that when push comes to shove, hockey is really the only sport that matters at this University. (i.e, where else in the country would a school just sit idle while its main rival moves up a division?) NDSU has done a nice job of selling itself as the "every other sport besides hockey" school in the area and the media has helped to add to that perception. Who could blame them when UND seems hesitant to promote any of its other programs? I think the first step to correct the problem going forward is to get the marketing budget for football back in house and out of the hands of REA. I don't think REA management has ever had the best interests of the football program in mind and I have little faith that is changing just judging by the lack of promotion the program still receives. Secondly, the football program needs to get better coverage from the local media. I like Wayne Nelson, but frankly, he seems a bit uninspired in his reporting on Sioux football and the program needs someone with some energy that is constantly blogging and helping to create interest. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but Terry Vandrovec at the Argus Leader does a terrific job reporting on the SDSU program. He's constantly blogging and has new info and opinions almost every day. This is the sort of thing UND needs. I've even thought about starting my own UND football blog to try to get things going in that direction but haven't done it because of personal time constraints. With the move to D-I, I am confident that the football program will get to where it eventually needs to be. There are too many good things happening (63 scholarships already, national TV, great education, solid football alumni support) for the program to fail. But it sure is frustrating to see how much administrative apathy and inattention by certain parties has undermined UND football over the last half dozen years or so.

My concern with this game is that UCD's strength is its QB and short passing game, which is something UND has failed to defend well all season. The Aggies aren't great defensively, but they do defend the run pretty well and UND will have to run the ball to have a chance. With Landry's erratic passing and the lack of depth at receiver I don't think UND can throw the ball all day long and win. UND has had trouble creating offensive momentum in every game this season (outscored 75-32 in the first quarter of games) and my hope is that the coaching staff will pull out all the stops (trick plays, etc.) to get an early score and get some momentum going. One part of the game I am a bit optimistic about is in the punt return game. Mersereau was terrific last week and UCD has been awful all year long on punt coverage, allowing over 14 yards per return. SUU killed the Aggies with a couple of big punt returns and I'm hoping UND can capitalize on this weakness. Of course this also means forcing punts, and since UND has allowed an awful 49% conversion rate on 3rd down attempts this season, that may be easier said than done. All in all, UND should be competitive in this game IF they can stay in it early. That's why I think it will be so important for UND to do something (i.e., big return, long pass, trick play) to create momentum and confidence early on. As long as UND is still close into the second quarter, I like the chances that the Sioux can stay in it and possibly win the game.

I believe Cameron has been on the travel roster all year.

I have wondered that as well. Maybe Hellevang is more consistent on delivering the ball to the area the coaching staff wants it on kickoffs so that coverage is better? Another thing on Hellevang's punting. While his average (41.8) is good, just 6 of his 34 punts have been fair caught, which generally means too many line drive punts. The long punt return by Cal Poly last week was a good example of that problem (43 yard punt, 34 yard return).

I believe the coaching staff's concern is that Cameron takes too long at times to get the punt off. Edit: The Sicatoka beat me to it.

True, Hellevang has been better this year. But right now, he averages 3 yards less per punt than does Cameron, and for his career Hellevang is just 25-53 on field goals 30 yards and out (inside of 30 is just a long PAT and should be close to automatic at the D-I level). When you add the fact that half his career games have been played indoors, those numbers are pretty weak.

I brought this up in the Cal Poly game thread, but it's worth repeating: For a good chunk of the game last week, UND had two RFr. (Lynch and McGurran) playing on the offensive line, a RFr. (Sutton) rush for 143 yards, and a true sophomore (Bamba) once again be the leading receiver. Not to mention that another RFr. (Wisthoff) was listed as the starter at TE. And that offense scored 24 points in just over two quarters against a ranked FCS team after not doing much the previous two weeks. Young, talented, and inconsistent. If you look at the senior class, is there an impact player (i.e. someone whose talent will be hard to replace) outside of Bondy? I don't believe there is. And this is not a slam on any of the other seniors on the roster because I know several of them are good students that have set an example for the younger kids to follow by sticking with the program despite limited playing time. The junior class is actually pretty decent (Boyle, Schwenzfeier, Ankebauer, Dublanko, Kasowski, Schroyer, Landry) and they should nicely bridge the gap until this class of RFr. and true freshmen are ready to lead the team coming out of the transition.

SDSU did have football success in the 40's and 50's, but so did Minnesota, Army and Navy. Point being that the success happened so long ago that it has gone from "tradition" to ancient history. Your other points are very good and I agree with them. And as TechFirst also pointed out, UND's TV deal is going to be huge for recruiting. It will take an expansion of the recruiting base for UND to be successful in D-I and having a national TV contract will give the coaches a leg up on the competition. I live almost 700 miles from campus and my friends are shocked (and impressed) when I tell them I can watch UND football, basketball, and hockey live on local cable. Also, the FCS level is not that much better than D-II. It's not as if UND needs to recruit the athletes to compete with Florida and USC.

I don't think the coaching staff will have much trouble getting the player's attention after what happened against USF. This is also the last home game for the seniors which will add motivation. Also, this SOU team isn't nearly as talented as the WWU team that knocked off UCD a few years ago.

As skeptical as I was coming into the USF game, this game will be completely different. SOU has an OK defense and a decent running back, but they cannot throw the ball at all (their two quarterbacks have a combined pass efficiency rating of about 82, which is awful). With UND getting healthy again, they will bury SOU.

Barry Alvarez said something to this effect when he took the Wisconsin job: "Our heart and soul will come from around here, but our hands and feet will have to come from somewhere else." Of course FBS recruiting is a whole different animal than what UND is doing, but I believe the saying at least partially applies to UND's situation as well. Of course people will point to Dressler and some of the running backs UND has had as evidence that local kids can do just fine, and it's certainly true that there are athletes good enough to do the job within the region. But to be a consistently good FCS program, we will need more depth and that will necessitate going outside of this area in recruiting, especially the skill position type kids. I'm glad to see UND's staff recruiting in Texas and California and bringing in a couple of Florida kids last year. Establishing a "pipeline" outside the area is going to be crucial to long term success. The good news is it is good to be in an area where linemen are easier to come by than skill players rather than vice versa. Ask any college coach and they will tell you that is true.

Kotelnicki ran the "UND 3-4" for one season at Truman State and they gave up 284 points. The season before he was there they gave up 413 and the season after he left, 408. Draw your own conclusions from there.

I would agree... UND seems to match up better with the run-first teams like USD and Stony Brook than they do against the teams that have a great deal of talent at WR. A quick glance at the team statistics (UND allows nearly 300 yards per game through the air) would seem to support that. The two things that concern me are Cal-Poly's quickness on offense (can UND prevent the big play in the option game?) and whether or not UND can move the ball at all. Cal-Poly doesn't seem to have the type of defensive unit that will assist the UND offense in getting back on track.

If you do a quick search and look at the thread orginator's other posts in regard to football, they all follow the same tired 'sky is falling' theme. It's almost as if he/she would like to see the football program fail. Interesting. The following is some food for thought that I put together to help calm the masses: In two weeks SDSU will host Southern Illinois, and with both teams unbeaten in the league, the MVFC title will be on the line. The Salukis lost their starting QB for the season last Saturday and will be playing a freshman from here on out, so I like SDSU's chances. Win or lose against SIU, SDSU will likely become the first team from the Dakotas to qualify for the FCS playoffs. Keep in mind that when SDSU entered DI they were a middle of the pack NCC program... down the list after UND, NDSU, UNO, and UNC... who had just left the year prior for DI. SDSU's last NCC title was in 1963, it's last (and only) D-II playoff appearance in 1979 and the Jacks managed 8 or more wins in a season just twice in their final 40 years in D-II. 2004 (first year of transition): Went 6-5 with three D-II wins. Only win over a non-transitioning FCS team was 31-24 over Southern. Only 5200 showed up on a 78 degree September evening to see SDSU beat Western Oregon. Lost 52-0 to Cal Davis and 63-7 to Georgia Southern. Late in 2004 SDSU (along with NDSU) got the ultimate kick in the pants when the Big Sky Conference rejected them in favor of Northern Colorado. 2005: Went 6-5 with four FCS wins, but just one (Southern Utah) was against a non-transitioning FCS scholarship program (by comparision UND has two such wins already this year). Started the season 2-3 capped by a 42-12 road loss to Texas State. Moved a conference game against Cal Davis to Sioux Falls but it only drew 7200 fans. SDSU's final three home games of the 2005 season (all against FCS opponents) drew a combined 10,031 fans, including just 1881 to see former NCC team Northern Colorado in the season finale. 2006: Disaster strikes immediately with a 17-3 loss to D-III Wisconsin-LaCrosse (a much worse defeat than UND losing to USF) and SDSU opens the season 0-3 including a 36-7 pounding at the hands of Montana. The Jacks also lost 27-17 to UNI during that stretch, just a couple of weeks after a D-II UND team had beaten the Panthers. SDSU later goes on a five game winning streak, with an impressive three wins against non-transitioning FCS teams. But on a beautiful 52 degree day in early November, just 4211 fans show up to see if SDSU (tied for first in the GWFC) can get its first 6-game winning streak since 1963 against NAIA William Penn. SDSU finished 7-4, losing the GWFC title to NDSU in the season finale. 2007: SDSU again starts the season 0-3, with all three losses to future MVFC mates. But the Jacks turn it around, winning five of their next six games, all against FCS competion. Unfortunately, just 3317 fans show up on a 54 degree November day to see SDSU rally to beat SUU and stay unbeaten in the conference. The Jacks knock off NDSU the following week before a packed house in Brookings to win their first league title in 44 years. 2008: The Jacks open the season with a 44-17 loss to a bad Iowa State team. Despite being through the transition, ISU is the school's first FBS opponent. SDSU starts off the season with a 3-4 record and just 8311 fans show up to see a highly ranked Cal Poly team beat the Jacks 42-28 in mid-October. Then, despite the fact that SDSU has a winning record in the MVFC, just 9393 fans combined show up to watch the Jacks beat Missouri State and Illinois State in back to back weeks in early November. SDSU ends the season 7-5, losing by a FG to conference champ SIU and beating the Bison in Fargo. 2009: As noted above, SDSU is 6-1 overall (undefeated in the MVFC), a top 10 FCS team, and has an average attendance of 14,000. They have now won three straight against NDSU and appear to have a program built to succeed over the long term. Of course there were many highlights to SDSU's transition, like some big crowds and some big wins. But I brought up mainly the lowlights just to show how perserverance and having a long-range plan can overcome many obstacles. There were bad crowds, bad losses, bad schedules, conference uncertainty, lack of money, losing out on recruits, etc. but SDSU got to this point by sticking to a plan and staying the course. People will say UND is a hockey school, but SDSU is definitely a basketball school. People will say UND can't possibly recruit because of the competition. UND went into SD last year and took two recruits that SDSU wanted! SDSU is just 60 miles from Sioux Falls, but UND is just 75 miles from Fargo (and don't let anyone try to tell you that their aren't a lot of Sioux fans in Fargo). UND has a national TV package. Does SDSU even have games televised locally? UND had a storied tradition as a D-II program. SDSU had a tradition of mediocrity. UND is bigger, a more renowned school, has a larger metro area and much better athletic facilities. UND immediately met the FCS scholarship limit. It was several years into the transition before SDSU could provide 63 scholarships. Despite the fact that SDSU has been D-I for six years now, Pat Behrns at UNO will tell you that this is the first year that he began to lose recruits he wanted to SDSU. There are no doubt freshman that are redshirting that could be helping UND on the field right now. Mussman could have done what Bohl did this year and play several true freshman out of desperation. But would that get UND to where it wants to be in 2012? Again, stay the course.